Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Shades of Crimson	By : Onileo Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 2074 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. My fanfiction is for entertainment only and is not intended for financial gain.

Chapter List
- 8
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Chapter 9
          Sakura opened the bedroom door halfway and poked her head out. Glancing around, she was happy to see the hallway deserted. Withdrawing back into the room, she turned and looked at the bed. Hidan was still fast asleep. With a smile on her lips, she left the bedroom and headed toward the kitchen. This small measure of freedom was refreshing, and she was quick to take advantage. Walking slowly, she let her eyes wander over the closed doors as she passed by. She counted ten in all. Quite a few rooms for the few members that currently resided here. At that wasn't counting Pein and Konan's private domain upstairs. When she reached her destination, she was surprised to find an already completed patch where the wall had been destroyed. Kisame must have stayed up half the night getting it done.
          Her stomach reminding her of why she had ventured out in the first place, Sakura walked into the kitchen. She was disappointed to find that her moment of solitude was at an end. Three people sat at the table, already finishing up their meal. The redheaded kunoichi was there, along with the shinobi that Kisame had slammed through the wall yesterday. A third ninja sat with them, one she had never seen before. He was quite tall, with a round, almost boyish face and a head of short, spiky hair. His expression looked calm and quiet, but his eyes gave her the impression that there was a restlessness brewing underneath his unassuming exterior.
          They turned their heads to look at her as she entered, and the redhead glared at her. The one Kisame had called Suigetsu grinned and waved her over. "Hey, it's Sakura, right?"
          Nodding, Sakura walked over to stand beside the table. "Yeah. And you're Suigetsu?"
          "Yep. Let me introduce you to the rest of Team Hawk. This is Karin." he said, pointing to the redhead. She adjusted her glasses and nodded, but her sour look never wavered. Sakura attempted a smile, but she was sure it looked quite forced. The woman obviously had a problem with her, and she had a feeling it had something to do with her knowing Sasuke.
          "And this is Jugo." he continued, pointing to the tall ninja across from him.
          "Hello." Sakura greeted him.
          "Hello, Sakura-san." he replied politely.
          After the introductions, Sakura grabbed a bowl of fruit from the fridge and sat across from Karin. Tension was rolling off the redhead in waves, but the other two either didn't notice, or were ignoring her. Jugo ate in silence, a look of deep concentration on his face. Suigetsu seemed to be the friendliest of the trio, and it wasn't long before he had struck up a conversation with her. They started off talking about the various places they had been to, but it soon escalated into Suigetsu telling her stories about the missions the team had been on over the last five years. Karin kept throwing him disapproving looks every time he mentioned her or Sasuke's name, and Jugo listened quietly, adding an occasional comment to Suigetsu's stories.
          While they were talking, Sasuke walked in. He took in the scene at the table with his usual indifference. Sakura paused mid-sentence and looked at him. Her fingers gripped her shorts tightly as he met her eyes. She was still upset over what he said yesterday, and it was hard for her to keep it from showing. But she was determined to not let her weakness get the better of her. So she plastered on her biggest smile and greeted him.
          "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."
          Sasuke didn't reply, instead he looked at the rest of his team. "We're leaving today." he told them. "I found the location of another laboratory and we need to go check it out. You have one hour to get ready." With that, he turned and left the room.
          Jugo and Suigetsu stood and bid her goodbye, then left the kitchen as well. Karin sat where she was, staring at Sakura.
          Sakura narrowed her eyes at Karin. The woman's attitude was really beginning to get on her nerves. "What?" she asked, unable to keep the irritation from her voice.
          "Sasuke told me that you were in love with him. Is this still true?" she asked forcefully.
          Sakura dropped her gaze to the table. She certainly got straight to the point when she wanted to know something. Did she still love Sasuke? It was obvious he didn't care for her at all. Nothing had really changed there, though. Back when they were teammates, he had constantly rejected her. She had loved him anyway. But if she was completely honest with herself, her crush on him had burned out long ago. She still cared about what happened to him, but she couldn't see herself in a serious relationship with him anymore. Lifting her head, she looked the other kunoichi in the eyes. "I do still care about Sasuke. I'm his friend."
          "I want you to stay away from him." Karin ordered in a clipped voice.
          "I'm pretty sure Sasuke is old enough to decide who he does and doesn't want in his life." Sakura replied saucily. Inwardly, she shook her head. Talk about insecure.
          "That's true, but I won't tolerate any interference in his plans. Got it?" Karin said, narrowing her eyes.
          Sakura was about to open her mouth and ask her who died and made her god when Hidan wandered into the room. He looked between the two women before walking over to the fridge and pulling the door open. Demon trotted along behind him, tail twitching. While he rummaged, his voice carried back to the table. "Sakura, if that bitch is bothering you, just kick her ass."
          "Who the hell are you calling a bitch!?" Karin yelled at him, going from irritated to angry in the blink of an eye.
          "You, bitch." he answered without bothering to look up.
          "Stop calling me that! And there's no way this soft hearted Leaf nin could ever kick my ass. I was trained by Orochimaru-sama himself!"
          Finally looking over at her, Hidan grinned and started laughing. "Bitch, she could kick your ass sideways in her sleep. And if you'll remember, both Orochimaru and Sasuke were Leaf ninja at one point in time."
          That shut her up. Karin gave him a hard glare before crossing her arms over her chest and looking the other way. Sakura had to repress a smile. As tempting as the idea was, she knew she wasn't really in a position to start throwing her weight around. It would make Sasuke mad and then he would be driven even further from her. And if Pein or Madara caught wind of it, they might punish both her and Hidan for being disruptive. Shaking her head, she looked at Karin. "That's okay, Hidan-san. We were just coming to an understanding."
          Standing, Karin gave her another glare before walking out of the room. Hidan tossed some leftover shrimp to the kitten before coming to sit down in the chair that Suigetsu had abandoned, breakfast in hand. "What was that about?" he asked.
          Sakura shrugged and popped her last piece of fruit in her mouth. She chewed slowly, watching Hidan as he began to eat. After a few minutes, he noticed her staring at him and grinned. Blushing lightly, she looked away. Warmth spread through her stomach as memories of him kissing her popped into her head. Before she realized it, she was smiling too. The way he had touched her, it was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She was no novice when it came to relationships, but after Sasuke, she never let anyone get that close to her heart again. It was just too painful. But Hidan had managed to force his way in, and with one kiss had turned her world upside down. And it wasn't just their physical chemistry. He made her feel appreciated for who she was. He defended her when she needed it, but at the same time respected her strength. And even though he had plenty of opportunities, he never once tried to take advantage of her. She looked back over at him and their gazes locked. Her smile faded and she sucked in her breath as the truth hit her hard. Oh, Kami, she definitely wasn't in love with Sasuke anymore.
          Her brain did a mental halt at this revelation. This was supposed to be wrong on so many levels. First, she was still technically a hostage. Was she simply suffering from a case of Stockholm Syndrome? And even if it were, were her feelings even real, or a result of their bond? Dropping her eyes, she stared at the table. If she were able to forget all that and accepted a relationship with Hidan, what about Konoha? If she somehow managed to find herself back in the village, there would be no excusing her actions. It would be a blatant betrayal. But then again, she'd done that already when she helped Pein to bring him back.
          Shoving all her doubts aside to clear her head, she asked herself the only question that actually mattered. What did she want? That one she already had an answer for. She wanted to be with Hidan. She was in love with him, and unlike Sasuke, he seemed to return her feelings. Madara and Jashin might have manipulated the circumstances, but her mind was still her own. She released a heavy sigh. This was going to be complicated. Their differing loyalties and ideals were bound to have an impact on their relationship. But then again, when wasn't her life complicated? As long as they believed in each other, they would find a way through it.
          "Sakura, what's wrong?" Hidan asked. She looked troubled by her thoughts, her frown getting deeper by the second. Then she stood and walked over to him.
          "Thank you." she whispered softly before leaning down and capturing his lips in a searing kiss. He just sat there in shock. It was the first time she had ever initiated any affection towards him. Not wasting the moment, he kissed her back eagerly. He could still taste the juice from the fruit she was eating on her lips. The sweetness was intoxicating, and he devoured her mouth. All too soon she broke away and headed for the door, leaving him feeling quite confused and wanting more.
          "Thanks for what?" he called after her. She just turned and smiled at him before disappearing around the corner.

          Several hours later, Sakura and Hidan were relaxing in the common room. She could finally read her book without distraction, and she was deep into a chapter on how overuse of chakra affected the nervous system. Well, without much distraction. Hidan was playing pool with Kisame, and whenever she glanced up at him, she was rewarded with a nice view of either the immortal's bare back or torso. Sensing her eyes on him, he would glance sideways at her, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. Suppressing a grin and a blush, she returned to her book. She had just turned to the next page when Zetsu appeared in the doorway. He was frowning, a look of worry on his face. He walked over to where she was sitting on the couch.
          "Sakura-san, we need your help. Sasuke's team is on their way back right now, and they are in trouble."
          Setting her book aside as worry washed over her, Sakura looked up at him. "What kind of trouble?"
          "Two cells of the Raikage's ANBU attacked them. They were nearly defeated. Sasuke is severely injured. We need you to heal him as soon as they get here." Zetsu answered.
          Her brow furrowed. "I thought they were just going to a laboratory. Why did the ANBU attack them?"
          The plant ninja looked away and hesitated a moment before answering. "They were looking for the eight tails. Evidently, they think we have him."
          Standing up, Sakura headed for the doorway. Friend or foe, she couldn't abandon someone in need. "Alright. I'll need to get a room ready. It has to be really clean with plenty of light."
          "I'll help you. Follow me." Zetsu said as he fell into step beside her.
          A half hour later, everything was ready. Sakura and Zetsu had worked quickly, and now stood by the front door, waiting. The minutes ticked by and nothing happened. Sakura was just beginning to think the plant ninja was playing some kind of strange joke on her when she felt the chakra barrier around the door fall. It opened slowly and the members of Team Hawk limped in. Jugo had Sasuke over his shoulder, and Suigetsu had an unconscious Karin in his arms. Their clothes were bloody and torn, and all of them had numerous gashes. Sakura's heart hit her stomach when she saw Sasuke's condition.
          He was very pale, and a sheen of sweat covered his skin. His breathing was shallow and labored. He had several deep wounds in his torso, and blood oozed out freely onto Jugo's arm. Steeling herself, Sakura motioned for them to follow her. She led them to the room that she and Zetsu had made ready. Ironically, it was the same room that she had revived Hidan in. Pointing to the table, she looked at Jugo. "Put him there." she commanded.
          Jugo did as she asked and stepped back. Without hesitating, Sakura ripped his shirt off and examined the wounds more closely. She didn't see any signs of poisons, but his stomach was a mess. It looked like someone had tried to gut him, and nearly succeeded. Molding her chakra, she sent it into his body to see how deep the damage went. His liver was hit, as well as a section of intestine. If she didn't repair them quickly, he would be poisoned by his own fluids. She set to work at once, without a word to anyone.
          Suigetsu laid Karin on a cot, and then went to watch the pink haired kunoichi. Her eyes were closed in concentration and her fingertips were glowing a soft green as they hovered over the largest wound on Sasuke. It seemed as if nothing was happening, but then the edges of the wound began knitting together, and the gash closed itself up, leaving only an irritated red line. Sakura opened her eyes, and Suigetsu noticed a few beads of sweat on her forehead. Her breathing was a little rapid, as if she had just been running. She turned and looked at him as she started on the cut over his liver. "Tell me what happened." she said.
          "We were overwhelmed. At first we saw only two of them. But every time Sasuke used his Sharingan, another would appear and pull the other ninja out of his genjutsu. According to Karin, they were scattered over a large area, so we couldn't fight them all at once. His chakra was nearly gone by the time the last one appeared. Even with Jugo and I keeping them busy, we were beginning to lose. Lightning attacks aren't good to me, and they seemed to know it. We managed to defeat them, but they were concentrating their attacks on Sasuke, and managed to do this to him before we took the last of them down." he replied.
          "What happened to Karin?"
          Suigetsu shifted uncomfortably. "At one point I was overpowered and stabbed in the chest. Sasuke insisted that she heal me instead of him. I would have died if she hadn't."
          Sakura raised an eyebrow. "She's a medic nin?"
          "No. She has the ability to heal people by letting them suck on her chakra."
          "That's an extraordinary talent." Sakura said.
          "Yeah. You should see her arms. They're riddled with bite marks."
          "Shut up, Suigetsu." said an angry voice behind them.
          Sakura turned to see the redhead sitting up on the cot. She had one hand on her head, rubbing her temple. After a moment, she stood and walked over to Sasuke's side. Sakura returned her attention back to her work. She finally had all the internal damage healed, and when she looked up, he had his eyes open, watching her. She gave him a small smile and finished closing the wound over his liver. Karin grabbed his hand. "Are you all right, Sasuke-kun?" she said.
          "I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt much."
          Pulling the sleeve up on one arm, Karin offered it to him. Sakura nearly gasped as she saw what Suigetsu had been talking about. Her skin was riddled with teeth marks, most of them bruised and swelled. "Here, let me finish healing you." she said.
          "No. Let Sakura do it." he refused, closing his eyes again.
          Dropping his hand as a hurt look came over her face, Karin backed up. Sakura could feel the other kunoichi glaring daggers into her back. Ignoring it, she began healing the less serious cuts. If she wanted Sasuke to recover, she would just have to deal with letting her heal him. After an hour passed, Sakura stepped back. She had managed to close all the wounds, and his bleeding had stopped. But her chakra was nearly spent and her head was feeling dizzy. The room started spinning, and before she could grab the table to steady herself, she began to fall. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her from hitting the floor. She looked up to see Jugo staring down at her, concern on his face.
          "Are you all right, Sakura-san?" he asked in a quiet voice.
          "I'll be fine. I just need to rest now." she replied. Clearing her head, she stood back up. Sasuke was leaning up on his elbows. He started to sit up. "Stop, Sasuke!" she yelled at him. "You aren't healed enough to be moving around yet."
          "I'll be fine." he said, but returned to lying on the table.
          Sakura wiped the sweat from her face and glared at him. "Yeah, after a couple of days in bed, you will." Turning to Jugo, she pointed back to the Uchiha. "Take him to his room and make sure he stays put. I'm going to go lay down for a while. If his wounds reopen or he starts running a fever, come and get me right away."
          Jugo nodded and moved to the side of the table. After a final glance to make sure the other three weren't seriously hurt, she left and wearily made her way to Hidan's bedroom. It was empty, so she slowly took her sandals off and crawled under the covers. Turning her head to the window, she watched the rain slide down the windowpane. There was a slight chill in the room, and she suddenly found herself wishing Hidan was with her to keep her warm. But she didn't feel the emptiness that had been bothering her lately. Strange. Maybe the effects of the jutsu were beginning to weaken. Or maybe they were just less pronounced since she was around him all the time now. She tried to focus on analyzing it, but the unsteady rhythm of the rain outside soon had her mind lulled and drifting. She was exhausted and it was only a few minutes before she was fast asleep.
          A couple of hours passed in the silent room. A creak sounded outside of her consciousness, and Sakura found herself climbing upward, out of layers of sleep. Maybe Hidan had come in to get her for lunch. Another creak and her eyelids fluttered. He was being awfully quiet. Wait. His footsteps would be much heavier, making the soft sounds in the room louder than they were. Opening her eyes fully, Sakura froze in surprise. Karin was standing over her, her face twisted into a mask of hatred. Before Sakura had time to react, the kunoichi lifted her arms and plunged a kunai right into her heart.
          "I warned you to stay away from him. Sasuke is mine!" she hissed, giving the lodged weapon a hard twist.
          Shock took over as Sakura's body was invaded by the foreign metal. Then she released a scream as the pain set in. It hurt just as badly as one of Hidan's rituals, except there was no soothing pleasure to wash it away. Her body trembling, she forced herself to sit up. When she did, she felt something warm and wet run down her chest. Looking down, she gaped at the amount of blood oozing from the wound. It was soaking her shirt and had nearly reached her waist. Karin had backed up, and was watching her, a triumphant smirk on her face. It faded as Sakura turned toward her, her own anger showing.
          Pushing the pain aside, she wobbly slid out of the bed. If she was going to die, she would be damned if Karin didn't pay for it first. She reached up and grabbed the hilt of the kunai. Crying out as the pain intensified, she slid the knife from her chest. More blood spurted down her clothes. Turning the kunai in her hand, she took a step toward Karin. The other kunoichi's eyes were huge.
          "Why aren't you dead?" she yelled. "I know I hit your heart!"
          Sakura's mouth twisted into a savage smirk as she advanced on the other woman, who stood frozen in shock and fear. "You should make sure you know what you're dealing with before you attack someone."
          As Sakura advanced, Karin's self-preservation kicked in and she pulled another kunai out of her pouch and charged. Sakura was ready for her, and deflected the weapon before grabbing her by the throat and driving her back across the room. She was not in any mood to play around. When Karin was backed against the wall, Sakura raised her arm to strike. She was so tempted to return Karin's affection and plunge the knife into her heart. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Sasuke had let her hold his hand. And that little action had spoken volumes about how the introverted Uchiha felt for the redhead. But she would hardly go unscathed.
          Pain shot through Karin's shoulder as the kunai was plunged deep into the bone. She screamed loudly and tried to fight the pink haired kunoichi off. Wrenching the weapon out and taking a few steps back, Sakura gathered chakra to her legs. Blood flew from Karin's lips and her breath was taken as the kick connected with her stomach. She felt the wall behind her give way under the force and when everything stopped moving, she was lying in the hallway, bits of plaster and wood around her. Looking up, she saw Sakura standing over her, glaring.
          "I'll let you live, but only because I know Sasuke cares for you. I don't want to hurt him any more than he already has been. But if you EVER try that again, I'll rip your fucking head off with my bare hands!" Sakura yelled at her.
          Karin clutched her shoulder and started to stand up when another crash sounded down the hallway. Looking over, they saw a door open and Suigetsu went flying through the air and crashed into the wall. Sliding down, he landed in an unconscious heap in the floor. Kisame emerged in the doorway moments later, arms folded across his chest. He looked to where the two kunoichi were, and a smirk crossed his face. "Well, it looks like I'm not the only one stuck taking the garbage out today." he said with a laugh.
          Sakura tried to smile, but the pain in her chest made it come out as a grimace. She started to say something more to Karin, but when she looked down, the girl was already gone. Kisame noticed the blood on her clothes and came over to see what had happened. Suigetsu regained awareness a moment later and, staggering to his feet, headed off in the opposite direction. There was another commotion in the direction of the kitchen, and Sakura's head turned towards the sound of running footsteps. Hidan arrived a moment later, Konan close behind him. Sakura sighed in relief and slid down the wall to sit in the floor. She coughed hard and tasted blood in her mouth. Hidan dropped to her side and his eyes widened when he saw the wound on her chest and the blood soaking her clothes.
          "Sakura! What the hell happened!" he asked.
          Sakura coughed again and spit out the blood that was collecting in her mouth. "Fucking bitch tried to kill me." she said. Hidan smirked at her harsh language. He must be rubbing off on her. Then his face turned hard as he realized what she said and anger washed over him. That bitch would pay for laying a finger on her. He started to get up when Sakura grabbed his arm and shook her head. "Hidan, don't. She won't be bothering me anymore."
          Kisame shook his head. "Well if you're still this feisty, you should be all right. Will you be able to heal yourself?" he asked her. Sakura nodded.
          "So why aren't you dead?" Konan asked, kneeling beside her as well and examining the wound. "She didn't miss."
          "I don't know." she answered. Looking over at Hidan, she saw that he was staring at her. A look of guilt crossed his features before it was replaced by a small frown. Evidently, he had come to the same conclusion she had. There was only one way she wouldn't be dead with a giant hole in her heart. Through her connection to him, she was immortal too. The now familiar feeling of panic swept over her, and she fought against it hard. Pushing it out of her mind, she concentrated on healing herself. To her surprise, she found that her heart had already been repaired, and the intense pain she had felt was lessening at a fast pace. Using what little chakra she had regained while she slept, she closed the now superficial wound on her chest.
          When she was finished, Hidan helped her to her feet. She wobbled and had to lean against him to remain upright. He said nothing, but held onto her. Konan had stood as well, and was examining the wall. Putting her hands on her hips, she turned towards the couple. "If you and Kisame keep this up, you'll end up remodeling the entire building. Luckily, we have plenty of supplies for this sort of thing. You can fix it tomorrow. If you feel up to it, that is. I'll understand if you want to rest and finish healing. I guess until then, you two can sleep in Sakura's old bedroom."
          Excusing herself, Konan headed upstairs to let Pein know what had happened. Kisame went back to his room after making sure she would be all right with Hidan. Sakura grabbed a change of clothes and she and Hidan headed to their temporary bedroom. He still had his arm wrapped around her waist, and Sakura let him help her. She still wasn't sure she could go far on her own. Once they were inside alone, he released her and she shakily made her way to the bed and sat down. Hidan stood in front of her. His face was a mixture of awe and disbelief as he watched her. Sakura sat there in shocked silence. As the minutes passed by, the weight of what happened hit her and she found it hard to breathe. The panic that she had been fighting came back in force, hitting her like a tidal wave.
          "...She tried to kill me." she said in a whisper.
          "Sakura." Hidan said, trying to gain her attention and calm her. She was obviously distressed over what had happened.
          "...She put a kunai in my heart and I didn't die." she said a little louder, her voice rising in pitch.
          "Sakura." he said again with more force.
          "I didn't die! It's not possible! I should be dead right now!" she yelled at him.
          Hidan grabbed her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. "Sakura! Snap the fuck out of it!" He yelled back.
          She went silent, his words cutting into the fear raging through her. Her mind struggled hard to accept what had happened to her. "I'm immortal." she said, half in question, half a dazed statement.
          "Yes." he answered her simply.
          "I can't die?"
          "No."
          "Why?" She suddenly sounded like a lost child, and Hidan had to resist the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her. What she needed now was some space to come to terms with her immortality.
          He looked at her, his expression dead serious. "I don't know. Maybe Jashin meant for us to be together like this. Maybe you being connected to me wasn't an accident or a side effect of the jutsu."
          Her distant eyes focused on his, and as she gazed at him, calm swept over her, chasing the panic away. Released from her anxiety, her stomach turned over and she paled. "I'm going to be sick." she told him.
          Hidan helped her to the bathroom, and for the second time, she vomited in the sink. He brought her clothes to her and ordered her to take a shower. Still in shock, she went through the motions automatically. Fifteen minutes later, she was cleaned, dressed and out of the bathroom. Walking over to the bed, she climbed in and rolled onto her side, facing the door. She stared at the wood blankly as her thoughts ran circles in her head. Jashin had made her immortal. She had really met him. He really had sent her back to be with Hidan. While these thoughts were rolling through her mind, Hidan climbed in the bed beside her. She knew he was worried about her. She wanted to roll over to him, snuggle close and take comfort from the one person who had gone through what she was going through now. She wanted to tell him she would be fine. But she couldn't. She wasn't fine. So she lay there, staring blankly at the door while her mind tried to wrap itself around her new reality.
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Shades of Crimson